PARIS, Mar 5, 2005/ FW/ --- Last month during New York Fashion Week, the talk under the tents at Bryant Park was the appointment of Patrick Robinson as the Creative Director of the House of Paco Rabanne.

So, it is not surprising that today, there was a big U.S. press contingency at the Louvre, awaiting the debut of an American designer in the legendary fashion house.

Sending a sumptuous and sexy collection of cocktail dresses, pantsuit sets and winter coats generously trimmed with fur, it was signature Patrick Robinson.

Tiered pleats on bodice-hugging silhouettes, cute trumpet skirts flaring regally into godets, slashed sleeves on wool coats that is layered with keyhole-necked blouses underneath – the collection is lovely through and through.

But, somewhere along the way, Patrick Robinson missed the Paco Rabanne DNA – the forward thinking element of the house, using high tech fabrics and experimentation of unusual materials and fabrics.

Except for the beads of Swarovski crystals that adorned the clothes and a few sparkling jewelry, the glitter and shine that usually accompanies a Paco Rabanne collection was missing.

It’s not to say that the collection was not beautiful; in fact it is very attractive and also very commercially viable, something that the buyers in the audience would put in their must-see list when they visit the showrooms.

Yet, the ingredient that makes it a Paco Rabanne collection is missing. Hopefully, it will be there once again next season.

Paco Rabanne by Patrick Robinson

Paco Rabanne by Patrick Robinson

Paco Rabanne by Patrick Robinson

Paco Rabanne by Patrick Robinson